A few questions about RCI

[Bobbyjean]

We have booked our cruise on Independence of the Seas in 12 months' time and will be taking our son who will be 16 months when we go. I have a few questions for experienced parents who cruise!

 

1. Is it a good idea to bring your own travel cot or are RC's OK?

 

2. Is blackout fabric a good thing to bring along or are the rooms fairly dark even if it's light outside (we will be in a junior suite).

 

3. Do you tend to forget schedules and do things with younger children in the evenings, e.g. go to shows with them? Or do you skip the shows/rely on babysitters?

[gingerpeaches]

My son was 17 months old the first time we cruised on the Navigator of the Seas. He didn't sleep in a travel cot, but he did sleep in either the bed or on the pull out sofa with one of us or with his older sister. We don't mind sleeping with our kids so this wasn't an issue. If you prefer not to sleep with your children, then take a travel cot. You should have plenty of room in a junior suite. The room was sufficiently dark (we were in a balcony stateroom) with the curtains drawn. We took him to meals in the MDR and to shows in the theatre. He enjoyed the meals and entertainment as much as we did. He had a longer nap in the afternoon and we let him have a lie in in the mornings. When we're on holiday, we don't bother about routines, and it wasn't that hard to get him back into his routine once we got home.

[cb at sea]

You can use RCI's cribs/P&Ps..don't lug your own bed! Their beds are fine...just bring whatever blanket or snuggly that the baby likes.

The cabins have black-out curtains...it will be dark enough.

Do take them to the shows (that aren't labeled 'adult')...they'll enjoy it! Play it by ear...it's a vacation!

[LisaT91403]

We went on Mariner with our 12-month old. We used the Pack N Play that they provided (it was in very good condition), but we brought our own quilted sheets and mattress pad to add a little comfort. It was plenty dark in our cabin. We didn't have much luck with naps, as DS was not a great napper at that age. But that made it much easier to put him down early at night!

 

The only show we took DS to was the ice show, and he lasted through most of it.

 

We all ate together for breakfast and lunch (either in the MDR or Windjammer), but we fed DS in the cabin for dinner. He was still eating baby food, so it was easy...and we just supplemented it with some cheese from the Concierge Lounge. Then, we put him down for the night, and had a babysitter from 7:30 - 11:00pm. We had a nice, leisurely, baby-free dinner in the MDR, followed by some casino action :-) Honestly, the only real "vacation" part of the vacation was after 7:30 when we had the babysitter!

[dalitos]

1. Is it a good idea to bring your own travel cot or are RC's OK?

We cruised X with our 23 month old and used their pack and play, it was in 'just OK' condition, but would have carried a P&P with us.

 

2. Is blackout fabric a good thing to bring along or are the rooms fairly dark even if it's light outside (we will be in a junior suite).

We were in a balcony room and the curtains provided enough shade, just a bit of light coming through in the middle and sides.

 

3. Do you tend to forget schedules and do things with younger children in the evenings, e.g. go to shows with them? Or do you skip the shows/rely on babysitters?

We did relax our home schedule quite a bit, at home my son goes to sleep at 8:00 sharp, during the cruise we moved his bedtime to about 9:30-10:00 depending on what we were doing, and brought him along with us. It is not as easy to enjoy the night entertainment with a baby/toddler as when you are adults only, obviously, but we enjoyed our evenings very much.